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Olympians Caster Semenya, Josia Thugwane and Lawrence Brittain have overcome so many obstacles in their journeys to the top of their game.
And these battles were what put them in line to become the new Bridgestone, Chase Your Dream, No Matter What, ambassadors at the launch of the campaign in Rosebank on Wednesday Afternoon.
The three national sporting heroes, according to the tyre manufacturing company, were specifically chosen because of their “unique and personal stories of overcoming adversity to realise their dreams against the odds”.
Olympic gold medallist middle-distance runner Caster Semenya who has always “dreamed of being one of the greatest runners” said campaigns such as these “offer Olympians an opportunity to tell our story on a much wider stage and to inspire people to persevere against all odds”.
Bridgestone announces Olympic gold medallist Caster Semenya as one of the ambassadors. #ChaseYourDream pic.twitter.com/U48QdEaBBY
— Palesa Dlamini (@PalesaDlamini_0) March 4, 2020
“There are a lot of battles that I have overcome, since the age of 18. You become a world champion and then your gender is questioned and I think that was one of the most difficult parts of my life,” she said.
South Africa’s golden girl – as Semenya is affectionately known – broke on to the world stage in 2009, and has been embroiled in a long struggle to convince the world athletics governing body, the IAAF (now known as World Athletics), that she has the right to compete against other women.
“I think I was prepared from a young age that with anything that you do, there will be challenges, but you have to find a way to overcome them, said the 27-year-old, who added, “my parents have taught me well, that first you have to love and accept yourself.”
Read: Caster laces up to resume fight with IAAF
“Having to prove I am a woman has been the most challenging part because if you know you are a woman and you asked to prove it, it becomes challenging.”Semenya’s comments come on the backdrop of World Athletics compelling “classified athletes” to take hormone suppressants to lower their testosterone levels to less than five nanomole per litre of blood.
Marketing executive at Bridgestone South Africa, Thandeka Ngoma, told City Press that the process of selecting the “right ambassadors was not an easy one”.
“It was a lengthy process, but we chose them specifically because were looking for ambassadors who speak to the heart of the campaign – chase your dream no matter what – so we didn’t want to choose someone who is a great Olympian or athlete and has not faced adversity or hurdle that they have had to jump to in order to show their resilience,” she said.
“We were looking for ambassadors with stories which speak to resilience, perseverance and having an obstacle and being able to show within that obstacle that they are still going to push on.
”Marathon legend Thugwane shared his story and said the need to provide for his family was what pushed him to chase his dream. “I was not aware of how much of a big deal the race I was running was,” he told City Press.
“At that time, all that was in my head was that I must win so I can get the R150 000 prize money at the end the race.I had to do it so I could support my family.”
Thugwane who in 1996 [two years after the first democratic elections] became the first black South African to win an Olympic medal said: “Life is very tough when you grow up like I did, but your background doesn’t have to hold you back. It’s possible to overcome it.”
A few months before the 1996 Atlanta Olympics Thugwane was hijacked and shot, although the bullet only grazed his chin, but he injured his back trying to escape.He ran his first marathon in 1991, but his big breakthrough came when he won the 1995 Honolulu Marathon.
The campaign aims to encourage people of all ages, abilities and passions to find the strength to chase their dream and overcome the obstacles they face on life’s journey, therefore it was only fitting that rower, Brittain was also part of the team of ambassadors.
Brittain, who beat the odds to take silver at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016 after beating cancer just two years before the event, said when he was diagnosed, his whole life was “turned upside down”.
“I went from rowing in a boat one week to starting chemotherapy the next week and that changes your whole life perspective,” he said.
“I’ve always loved winning, even from way back when I was a little child. My journey revealed the true strength of the human spirit to overcome obstacles for a dream.”
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